Canon Unveil 250-Megapixel Camera Sensor

Canon has announced a brand new image sensor which can fit into a consumer-grade DSLR camera. But this isn’t just any old sensor, this is a sensor with 250-megapixels which is absolutely phenomenal.

If you’re unsure what 250-megapixels actually means, the Japanese camera maker has revealed that the new APS-H CMOS sensor allows the photographer to capture the “lettering on the side of an airplane flying at a distance of approximately 18km [11 miles] from the shooting location.”

That’s pretty damn impressive.

In addition to being the densest sensor of its size, it’s also fast according to Canon with a readout speed of 1.25 billion pixels per second, meaning it can shoot super-hi-res images at upto 5 frames per second.

In addition to those specs, you can expect the pictures to offer a resolution of 19,580 x 12,600 pixels, or 246.7 megapixels, so Canon is being quite generous when rounding-up the sensor’s actual megapixel stats. Unfortunately one minor issue with the sensor is that it’s makeup is slightly behind the times, measuring approximately 29.2mm by 20.2 mm, slightly larger than the APS-C units found in other consumer cameras, but it is significantly smaller than some of the “full frame” sensors in cameras used by professioinals.

Unfortunately, don’t expect to find Canon’s next cameras equipped with this sensor as they’re aiming the sensor at “specialized surveillance and crime prevention tools, ultra-high resolution measuring instruments and other industrial equipment.” So that means, any security equipment using these sensors will likely be able to see your DNA make-up. (I’m kidding).

Canon has released no details as to whether they will be releasing a consumer-grade DSLR with the 250-megapixel sensor, but we’re hoping it’s not in the too distant future.